Pride and the 4th of July are long over, so what’s there to celebrate?
How about a slew of great new movies and TV shows to watch as the summer heats up?
Watch With Us almost can’t keep up with all the new content, but we nonetheless came up with a list of streaming recommendations for you this week.
MGM+s new crime drama The Westies and Documentary+’s The Price of Milk are now available, so you don’t have to wait to watch interesting – and thought-provoking – shows.
Apple TV’s star-studded crime-thriller Lucky drops on July 15, but it’s worth the brief wait to witness Anya Taylor-Joy kick some butt as a crafty con artist.
If you’re craving a movie, check out Sofia Coppola’s fascinating HBO Max documentary about icococlastic fashion designer Marc Jacobs, Marc by Sofia, on July 16.
‘The Westies’ Season 1 – MGM+ (Now Streaming)
In 1980s New York City, Hell’s Kitchen is the battleground for The Westies, a small but loyal group of criminals led by the avuncular Eamon Sweeney (J.K. Simmons). Eamon needs to keep the peace among his crew, and especially with the rival Italian gang who want to muscle them out of their territory, so that he can seal a lucrative new deal involving the newly constructed Javits Center on the West Side. But peace doesn’t come easily for a gang that’s used to chaos and violence, and soon the Westies will remember just why their headquarters is called “Hell’s Kitchen” in the first place.
The Westies is like if Peaky Blinders and Goodfellas had a baby that swore and smoked way too much. It’s gratuitously violent, but it also preaches the upsides of gangster brotherhood. The show doesn’t reveal anything you haven’t seen before, but it’s always entertaining and gives Simmons a good anti-hero role to let loose in.
‘The Price of Milk’ Season 1 – Documentary+ (Now Streaming)
What’s the price of milk? Not to buy it, but to make it, ship it, sell it and bring it to your home? Those are the questions the new four-part docuseries The Price of Milk asks, and the answers may surprise you. Award-winning filmmakers Nicholas Bruckman and Yoni Brook explore almost all the aspects of a drink we take for granted – and, they argue, is a fundamental part of American identity.
From the famous “Got Milk?” advertising campaign in the 1990s to the modern-day decrease in consumption of the drink, The Price of Milk examines the making and selling of milk as both a beverage and a cultural product. Milk is something we take for granted and don’t think too much about, but as this docuseries argues, maybe it’s time we should. Cool little fact: Oatly, the popular oatmilk brand, backed the project, with the only stipulation that the docuseries had to be about milk. They got their money’s worth, and so will you.
‘Lucky Season 1 – Apple TV (July 15)
Con artist Lucky (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey), think they have it made. They just pulled off a multi-million dollar heist, and no one knows they did it. At least that’s what they think until everything turns to s**t. After Cary – and the loot – disappear, Lucky has to figure out what happened to her hubby and how to get the missing money back before a ruthless mob boss, Priscilla (Annette Bening), who also happens to be Cary’s mother, finds her.
Based on Marissa Stapley’s bestselling novel of the same name, Lucky looks to be yet another promising addition to Apple TV’s impressive TV show library. Taylor-Joy is always a captivating screen presence, and she’s joined by a stellar cast that includes Queer’s Starkey, Timothy Olyphant as Lucky’s wayward father and King Richard’s Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as a determined FBI agent. The first two episodes drop July 15, with each subsequent episode released every Wednesday until the season finale on August 19.
‘Marc by Sophia’ – HBO Max (July 16)
Fashion designer Marc Jacobs and filmmaker Sofia Coppola have known each other for decades, and it’s this shared history that makes the new documentary Marc by Sofia such a warm and intimate viewing experience. Using Jacobs’ 2024 runway show as a starting point, Coppola probes her subject’s eclectic past, asking questions about his personal and professional life, including the death of his father and his status as fashion’s enfant terrible in the ‘90s.
Beyond that biographical approach, what makes Marc by Sofia so fascinating is how it shines a light on Jacobs’ creative process. You might think runaway shows are pretty simple to pull off – you throw some clothes on some wafer-thin models and nudge them down the catwalk. Yet for Jacobs, it’s more than that – the presentation itself is part of his creative process, and it’s just as detailed and thought-out as his haute couture clothes.
